10428 | 14 Oct. 2025 | 09:22
Todor Tokin
"Trud news"
Last week, "MRF-New Beginning" proposed the creation of a temporary commission to establish facts and circumstances about the activities of George Soros and Alexander Soros and their foundations on the territory of Bulgaria, financing Bulgarian individuals and legal entities and non-governmental organizations, as well as determining their connections to political parties, magistrates, educational institutions, media, business structures and government authorities. The Open Society Foundation closed its representation in Budapest, and its activities in Russia are not welcomed. What did Soros do during the years of democracy in Bulgaria and why have the attacks against him increased - we talk to Dimitar Ludzhev, one of the heads of the Open Society Foundation in Bulgaria from its establishment until 1999.
On February 7-13, 1997, "168 Hours" published an article about the Soros Foundation with the title "Ludzhev: We are the Partisans of Soros."
Now, Todor Tokin speaks with Prof. Ludzhev.
In an interview for "168 Hours" dated February 13, 1997, you said "we are the partisans of Soros," Mr. Ludzhev... This puzzled Soros himself... And I can say it again. We were the people who implemented his ideas and goals through the Open Society Foundation. This foundation existed in all of Eastern Europe, including Moscow. "Partisan" is the right word (editor's note). In the political dictionary, a "partizan" is a devoted member or supporter of a political party and is not inclined to compromise with their political opponents, because we truly shared his ideas for promoting the creation of an open society, which was his concept developed during the 50s and 60s of the last century.
- How did Soros enter Bulgaria? - It was January or February 1990. The cultural attaché from the American embassy called me and said that George Soros was arriving in Bulgaria and would like to meet with me at the "Balkan" hotel. I went there, I had never been before, and I met a very bright person with a kind demeanor. He said he wanted to establish the Open Society Foundation in Bulgaria and wanted me to be his personal representative. I was very impressed by him. We talked about the goals of the foundation and what needs to be accomplished. He mentioned what was being done in the Hungarian foundation, which was the most advanced at the time.
- What happened next? - Afterwards, he went to meet with Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov, because the foundation needed to be established by a decision of the government. Two days later, we met again at the hotel and he told me that Lukanov's government was very open to the idea and that they would provide equal value for his donation of one million dollars in Bulgarian lev for the foundation, and that the Council of Ministers would soon make a decision on its establishment. Soros had suggested Stefan Tafrov as executive director, and Lukanov had suggested Georgi Prohaski. Soros said that Tafrov spoke kindly of Prohaski and he became the third director. In May, Rumen Vodenicharov went to New York and I don't know what he talked about there with Soros, but Soros asked him to make him an executive director as well.
- What was Soros' concept for "Open Society"? - His concept was that the Open Society Foundation should support the dismantling of closed societies and transition towards open societies by creating a modern civil society. For this purpose, the most important thing is education, educational programs, training for managers, support for culture, writers and intellectuals, and promoting free thought and a free press. In the beginning, we had programs like this. Later on, we moved towards institutional programs, not only providing scholarships, but also creating institutions. "We first created the New Bulgarian University, using the experience of the Central European University in Budapest.
- And what kind of people were appointed to the leadership bodies of the "Open Society"? Valentin Vatsed told me in an interview that Soros attracted people from the second ranks of the Bulgarian Communist Party or their children? - Such a thing has never happened, Vatsed was making up nonsense, we never allowed people from the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Throughout the time we were in leadership positions, there were people associated with the Union of Democratic Forces. The directors would choose their own people. For example, I recommended Antonina Zhelyazkova, who did a lot of work with minorities. Later, we started creating business councils, cultural councils, and again we would select people connected with democratic forces." I don't remember any figure from the left being involved anywhere, neither at a low nor at a high level, connected with the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
- The same article from "168 hours" raises the question of George Soros' participation in the January 1997 events, which led to the downfall of Jean Videnov's government... - There was no participation from Soros. In other countries, he has never been involved in such events. His foundations have always supported processes without directly intervening. He was extremely satisfied with our foundation and even wrote in his book published in 1992 that the Bulgarian foundation has made the most progress and achieved the most compared to other foundations during that time. We supported the democratic forces, but we did not interfere directly in politics. "As it is about the year 1996-97, we supported the campaign for the election of Petar Stoyanov as president by sponsoring several electronic and print media. This was our involvement in the political process at the time. When ten journalists were fired from the national radio, we prepared a program for them to go to Darik Radio. We have taken such actions. We sent a group of students, led by Emil Koshlukov, for training in America, and several intellectuals received scholarships - Vlado Todorov, Ivan Krastev, Alexander Kyosev. In this way, we helped, but we did not give direct money for the elections.
- Let's go back to "168 hours" from February 13, 1997." It is claimed that in March 1996 at the "Imperial" hotel in "Golden Sands" with strong security Soros attended a meeting of the leadership of the Bulgarian Foundation "Open Society". His directive was "to support all cultural publications that take oppositional stance towards the current leadership of the country", i.e. towards the BSP government. My question is - were the January events that happened a year later already planned then? Were they funded with his money? - No. At the insistence of the Varna club of the foundation, a meeting of its board of directors was held there, and Soros attended these meetings every year. We discussed issues of the foundation, as usual, and then we had a private conversation at Soros' apartment, where Bogdan Bogdanov and Prohaski were present. We discussed the political situation in the country, particularly the upcoming presidential elections between Zhelyu Zhelev and Petar Stoyanov. Soros wanted to be informed, as he has always followed with interest what is happening in Bulgaria. We didn't make any specific decisions. It is not true that the events in December 1996 and January 1997 were financed with his money, that is a communist version. I know they were financed, but not by him. The money was American and went through one or two banks, but it wasn't Soros'. Somewhere in March during a conversation with the American ambassador, she said that they had put a lot of effort into overthrowing the Videnov government.
- But there was still preparation, the organization had been in place for quite some time... - Well, yes. In late May or early June of 1996, the US ambassador Montgomery met with two representatives of the American administration. We discussed the situation in Bulgaria and the possibilities for overthrowing the Videnov government and the opposition coming into power. Opening a parenthesis - as early as July 1995, when I was in Washington, I had a meeting at the State Department where it was understood that the Americans were extremely annoyed by the new political orientation of the Bulgarian government. If you remember, at that time they proclaimed the creation of the Sofia-Belgrade-Moscow axis. The IMF has proposed an agreement, which if accepted by Videnov, would mean closure of banks and over 60 companies, income restrictions that could lead to dissatisfaction. And if he doesn't accept it, the Fund will not release funds, and Bulgaria has been greatly delayed due to the management policy of Videnov and his company. We began discussing who will govern. My opinion was that a transitional expert government should be formed, possibly on a coalition basis, but without party leaders. I understood that the Americans had met with both Todor Valkhev and Andrei Lukanov. From what I later learned from Montgomery, everyone agreed with what I suggested. The two members of the American administration returned in September and said that a technocratic coalition government should be formed and a currency board should be introduced to limit the possibilities of Bulgarian politicians to steal. BSP brutally closed banks and created a huge chaos. Inflation and dissatisfaction started and everything was heading towards failure. It is no coincidence that I mentioned Andrey Lukanov, because he was involved in the whole affair and that's why he was shot before going to the States...
-My last meeting with him was around September 24-25, 1996 at Hotel "Sofia" at a coupon event for the anniversary of "Trud". And the editor-in-chief Tosho Toshev told the colleagues - take a glass each and go entertain the guests. I left and found Lukanov and Dr. Dertliev in one corner. "Oh, I caught you. What are you conspiring about?" I asked them. Lukyanov smiled and said - well, you know very well what - about the unsuccessful social democracy. Then he added very seriously - Todor, keep an eye on the events. I'm leaving for the USA and when I come back... Keep an eye on the events. And on October 2, he was murdered. - Yes, he was involved there. The Americans said that appropriate actions should be taken. And if we talk here about "Open Society", the foundation sponsored the trip of Ivan Kostov and Alexander Bozhkov to Switzerland, where they met with Soros and he convinced them to accept the currency board and a coalition government. They have accepted, only afterwards I understood, that the Germans, who practically take over the creation of the currency board, insisted that there should not be a coalition government, but a government of the United Democratic Forces (UDF). And the UDF was sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
- What is Soros' influence at the moment? - It's difficult for me to say, I don't follow it closely. After 1999, I ended my relationship when I left the board of directors. Ivan Krastev was obsessed with Soros back then. But I don't think he has as much influence as they ascribe to him. I don't want to make assumptions, but I think it's all because of his support for the LGBT community, which is too influential in both the EU and the US. In the Liberal International, where I was, most were like that
- Which party or parties in Bulgaria is currently associated with Soros? - His people should be in "Yes, Bulgaria", maybe even in the SDS. Many people confuse the activities of the "Open Society" with USAID - the US Agency for International Development, whose activities have been frozen. The "America for Bulgaria" Foundation has nothing to do with the "Open Society". In this foundation there should be people from "We Continue the Change".
- Why is there this widespread attack against Soros now, not just in Bulgaria?
- It started in the US, with Trump they have had contradictions since his first term. Soros has always been associated with the Democratic Party. And the entire ideology of the conservative Republicans is fundamentally opposed to Soros's philosophy. This is one of the things that are not known in Bulgaria. The Republican Party is dominated by so-called conservative realism, dating back to Reagan and Bush Sr., whose main foreign policy ideas include cooperation, seeking a balance of interests, less engagement of America in promoting democracy and policing functions, and America being more tolerant towards other cultures. Meanwhile, the Democrats are extremely aggressive and continue to maintain the idea that the United States should be a pillar of world democracy, with their democratic values, advocated by von der Leyen and others, being enforced by all means necessary. Democrats are very intolerant and aggressive towards traditional values. They are for LGBT rights, same-sex marriages, maintaining immigration, and abortions, which are exactly the opposite of conservative realism. Soros is one of the main sponsors of these liberal foundations in America and Europe, which preach these liberal values under the flag of tolerance. But increasingly, political movements and sentiments in the US and Europe are declaring themselves against them. These are fundamental differences, and Trump is one of the speakers of this movement. He speaks the language of the working class and the average white American, which is why he is so popular. In the European Parliament, the clash between these two philosophies is fundamental - both regarding immigration and the green deal. There, the LGBT lobby is even stronger than the Jewish one.
Dimitar Ludzhev was born on March 27, 1950, in Burgas. The Higher Institute of Economics in 1979, majoring in "Politicaleconomy". He works as a research associate at the Institute of History of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Since 1990 he has been a member of the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) and took part in the Round Table Talks. He was elected as a member of the 7th National Assembly and as Deputy Prime Minister in the coalition government of Dimitar Popov. In 1991, he was elected as a member of the 36th National Assembly and as Minister of Defense in the government of Fililip Dimitrov. In May 1992, he resigned due to deteriorating relations with the Prime Minister. He also left the UDF and its parliamentary group and founded the party "Center for New Politics", which later merged into the Liberal Union "New Choice". After the resignation of the government of Lyuben Berov in 1994,He was proposed as a Prime Minister, but did not receive the necessary support during the parliamentary vote. In 1997, "New Choice" was among the founders of the United National Salvation Coalition. Lyudzhev was elected as a member of the 38th National Assembly. He is a professor and a doctor. He has numerous scientific publications. He is also the author of the books "City of Two Eras", "The Revolution in Bulgaria 1989-1991", and "Transitional Times". Source: https://trud.bg/en/prof-dimitar-lyudzhev-former-vice-premier-and-minister-of-the-selected-before-trud-news-we-were-the-partisans-of-soros-i4029239/
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